The Day I Died
by Souffles In Space
Summary: The day I died was a blessing. / Oneshot; Terra-centric.


_**Disclaimer:** Gack._

_**Summary:** The day I died was a blessing, and a curse. Between "_The End: Part 3_" and "_Things Change_"._

_**A/N: **Why am I doing this? Uh, no idea. God knows I should be working on "_Go!_", or my apprentice fic, or my various Jinx one-shots...gah._

_Just a one-shot, centring on Terra, between "_The End: Part 3_" and "_Things Change_". Probably pointless...but anyways. Again, British spellings and words. If anyone can think of a better summary, I'd be happy to replace it, because the one I thought up kind of sucks._

_I'm just glad I finally finished a story for once, even if it _is_ a one-shot. I'm considering turning it into an anthology, since I have a couple more Terra one-shot ideas in mind, but it's just one piece of writing for now._

_I was hesitant to label this under 'Romance' (since it's only one sentence), so I labelled it under 'Friendship'._

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><p><strong>The Day I Died<strong>

_Raven glowed with confidence. Her cape and long hair flew impressively in the wind she conjured. Trigon stumbled, cracking beneath her onslaught of power. This power did not come from Trigon. It came from something else, something deep within her that was completely and utterly Raven; her father had nothing to do with it._

_Trigon's yells of rage ripped through the air as Raven's soul-self enveloped him. He dissolved into the next dimension, and so did the hell he had wrought upon the earth. The lava melted into water; the stone people gave way to flesh and blood._

_Jump City awoke from its coma. So did Terra._

**~X~**

The day I died was a blessing, and a curse.

It was a Winter's night, and an icy wind (especially cold in comparison to the heat of the lava I could swear I'd felt only moments before) bit at my cheeks as I shook the crumbling rock from my face. The pitch darkness did not scare me - in fact, I didn't even register it at first. Nothing really touched me. It was in a daze that I shook myself, until almost my entire body was freed.

My legs were still trapped, however. The stone that encased them came up to my knees; it was thicker than the rest of my prison had been. My mind was slowly clearing, and in increasing desperation I bent over and tugged at the rock. It was hard and cold beneath my hands, which felt wrong; it no longer felt like a living thing to me, and I couldn't convince it to let me go.

My heart started to race, and my breathing sped up to match it. I grabbed a piece of flint and started to pound feverishly against the rock. My still-weak muscles screamed in protest, but after a while, it cracked beneath my determined onslaught. I wriggled and squirmed, until I could safely remove myself.

My legs complained. They could not support my weight, and I found myself stumbling forwards, tripping over a...a flower bouquet?

I landed on my face, and blacked out for a few moments. My head spun. What had happened? How long had I been there? Slade...Beast Boy...

I pushed myself onto my feet and stumbled forward, breathing hard. I didn't realise that the tears were streaming down my face until I reached the mouth of the cave. I clung to the rocks for support, drinking the air like ice water, and stared up into the starry, desert sky only to have my vision blurred. I wiped my blue eyes dry, glad to be out of that place. It felt so small...so cramped...

Claustrophobia? I'd never been claustrophobic in my life...never claustrophobic when I was surrounded by dirt, by my own element...

But it wasn't my element any more. I fell to my knees and buried my hands in the film of sand that lined the desert rocks...but nothing. I couldn't feel the layers of dirt, or the hum as it waited eagerly for my command. Just...flat stone.

I'd wanted this so badly, but now that I'd been granted my wish, I felt strangely hollow inside. What was I supposed to feel? Disappointment? Happiness? Freedom? Or this sudden uncertainty, this strange numbness?

I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. There was no yellow light or electricity; there was no response.

I brushed the dirt from my arm, and I remembered my metal suit - completely silver, except for the Slade insignia on my chest, a sharp, black '_S_' against an orange circle. In disgust, I ripped the gloves away and tore off the chest plate (revealing the sarashi underneath, protecting my torso), surprised to see that it was no longer a part of my skin.

Still, I could remember the feel of the metal, of Slade's hand stinging my cheek, of Beast Boy's arms around my shoulders...

_Good God, what have I done?_

I'd lost all of my friends. I'd destroyed a city. I'd taken lives. I could lose the suit, but I could never escape the monster that Terra had become.

_Beast Boy...I'm so sorry..._

"Beast Boy..." My voice cracked. My throat felt gritty; I actually coughed up bits of dirt.

_Maybe I can fix this, and be a hero again._

Now I was just lying to myself. Even if I could redeem myself, I didn't want to be a hero anymore (because that worked _so well_ last time). I didn't want to be a villain either – I guess I never did. I just wanted to get away from the pain inside.

Ants crawled over my arms, where the bindings had torn. I shuddered and brushed them away. Bugs never bothered me before. _I wonder what else is different about me..._

Shakily, I got to my feet. Lost, confused. _Where do I go from here?_

My hands balled into fists again. I looked to the sky with a new determination in my face. No, Terra couldn't escape the monster she'd become.

_But I can._

**~X~**

_Beast Boy's flashlight swept the cave. His mouth ran on to try and distract himself from the nerves, but he was talking into thin air. The pedestal was empty. Stone-Terra was not there._

_His spirits lifted – _I was right, the girl is Terra!_ – but he was only giving himself false hope. Terra – the person, Terra – couldn't be found. She was buried, locked away with her memories in the deepest recesses of the girls mind, and the girl intended to keep her there. The last remnant of her lay in the note fluttering on the floor of the cave, which Beast Boy didn't notice in his excitement._

You were the best friend I ever had. Goodbye, Beast Boy.

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><p><em><strong>AN:** I case you're wondering, a _sarashi_ is "a long, winding strip of cloth, usually thick cotton, wrapped tightly around the midriff up to the chest" [quoted from TVTropes]._

_Yes, I ship BBxTerra. I also ship BBxRaven. I'm pretty liberal with my shipping preferences, if my profile didn't tip you off about that._

_Was the ending too sappy? Writing quality, grammar, structure? Characterisation? Constructive criticism appreciated! Even flames will be considered before I delete them, because hey, even they might have some useful advice (however, reviews are **not** a place for Terra-bashing, so please refrain)._

_**EDIT: I removed the "**_**I love you**_**" because I thought it sounded sudden and out of place.**  
><em>


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